


the greatest

by phoenixsigns



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: All-Stars 2018, Angst, Drinking, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending, M/M, for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 13:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16975818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixsigns/pseuds/phoenixsigns
Summary: Hyungwoo realizes some things when he and Sanghyeok choose their charity for the 2v2 tournament at this year's All-Stars.





	the greatest

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into English available: [一切都是最好的](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17147039) by [Jader_Se7en](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jader_Se7en/pseuds/Jader_Se7en)



> Getting on that All-Stars train before it's too late. Captain Faker was a lovely duo to watch at All-Stars, especially when they revealed their choice of charity to support ;-;

Hyungwoo and Sanghyeok met face to face for the first time since last December at the airport in Seoul.

“I’m picking Alistar when we go 2v2, hyung,” Sanghyeok said to Hyungwoo as soon as they were within speaking range. His mouth was curled up in an impish little grin, the one Hyungwoo has both seen and imagined whenever he and Sanghyeok ended up on the same team in solo queue and Sanghyeok locked in a support champion despite his teammates’ pleas. Hyungwoo missed that grin, just a little.

In response, Hyungwoo huffed and grumbled theatrically, which just made Sanghyeok’s smile widen. Junsik and Wangho were there too, and they giggled and teased Hyungwoo when they saw the look on his face at the thought of dealing with Sanghyeok’s Alistar again. 

Junsik’s hands shook just a little as he gazed at the departures board, Las Vegas and Los Angeles among them. Hyungwoo wondered if he was more excited or nervous to be playing in NA.

During the flight, Wangho fell asleep almost immediately, slumped against his seat next to Junsik, who was listening to music on his phone, and snoring gently. Next to Hyungwoo, Sanghyeok peered at them from the seat behind them, leaning a little into Hyungwoo’s personal space as he watched Wangho’s chest rise up and down.

“He always slept with his mouth open,” he said quietly, almost to himself. Hyungwoo looks at him.

“Do you miss him?”

Sanghyeok turns back toward Hyungwoo and shrugs, face expressionless. “He was a good teammate.” He pauses. “So was Junsik.”

“I’m sure they were,” was all Hyungwoo could think to say. Sanghyeok turned back to his former teammates, and Hyungwoo let him be.

Everyone was tired and grumpy when they landed in Las Vegas, with Wangho being the sole exception. While everyone else dragged their feet, Wangho practically bounced to the baggage carousel.

“We’re in Vegas!” he chirped. “Do you think we’ll have time to visit the casinos while we’re here?”

“You aren’t old enough to get into the casinos here,” Hyungwoo admonished, flicking Wangho’s nose. “In America they’re restricted to ages 21 and up.”

Wangho’s face fell, causing Junsik and Hyungwoo to snicker and Sanghyeok to crack a smile. The strange melancholy he’d shown on the plane had disappeared, though it had mostly been replaced with exhaustion.

On the ride to their hotel, Sanghyeok leaned against Hyungwoo as Wangho and Junsik chattered and pointed to the bright lights all around them, the sleeve of his jacket pressing into Hyungwoo’s side. There were several layers of clothing separating them, but Hyungwoo could still feel himself getting a little warmer.

“Hyung?” Sanghyeok asked sleepily, suddenly staring up at Hyungwoo. Hyungwoo blinked.

“What is it?”

“We still need to choose a charity to support. When we win the 2v2, we can’t go up to the stage with a blank cheque,” Sanghyeok said plainly. Hyungwoo snorted.

“How very confident of you.”

“Well, we are going to be playing with my Alistar.” Sanghyeok grinned. Hyungwoo shook his head ruefully.

“Oh, to be young and cocky again,” he sighed dramatically. “As for the charity, I don’t really have any preference. Maybe something that helps children. Are there any charities you support?”

Sanghyeok nodded and told him the name of the charity, voice even and casual. Hyungwoo pretended his heart doesn’t thump wildly when he realized it was a charity for LGBTQ rights.

“Sounds good to me,” he replied, trying to sound just as casual as Sanghyeok looked. Sanghyeok smiled, a calm and gentle one instead of the amused smirk Hyungwoo usually saw from him, before he closed his eyes and nodded off.

Once they reached the hotel and got settled in, Hyungwoo flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, strange thoughts and feelings he’d never had before flitting about in his mind. Or maybe he had felt them before, but justnever allowed them to come to the surface of his mind.

Either way, Hyungwoo was grateful that this year all the players got single rooms.

The next morning, Sanghyeok perched next to Hyungwoo as they ate breakfast. Hyungwoo tried to ignore the way his heart leapt at that, and that he had barely slept a wink last night because of Sanghyeok, and instead concentrated on unwrapping his blueberry muffin.

“It’s so sweet,” Sanghyeok suddenly said, poking his face in to stare at Hyungwoo’s choice of breakfast foods. Hyungwoo tried not to jump, though judging from Junsik’s snicker from across the table he must have looked quite shocked. “Too sweet for me,” Sanghyeok added, as if that was the issue here. Not that there was any issue. 

“Yeah, it is,” Hyungwoo managed eventually, despite not having taken a bite of the muffin yet. Sanghyeok either didn’t notice this or pretended he hadn’t, because he just nodded and turned back to his own plate, which was filled with fruits. To cover up his embarrassment, and also avoid the amused and baffled looks he was getting from the rest of the table, Hyungwoo shoved half of the muffin into his mouth. 

Sanghyeok was right; it was too sweet.

All-Stars was a whirlwind of excitement. Hyungwoo was barely able to catch his breath before it was over. As promised, Sanghyeok locked in Alistar, which shockingly didn’t cause them to be eliminated in the first round of the 2v2 tournament. Seeing Doublelift and Voyboy hoist the giant novelty check in front of the cheering was a slight disappointment given how he and Sanghyeok had been so close to winning, but Hyungwoo easily comforted himself with the knowledge that the money they had won was going to a good cause. Sanghyeok kept a placid poker face throughout most the tournament, but he allowed a small smile to grace his face when they were informed that the money they had won by coming in second would be arriving at their charity of choice within a few days. Seeing it, Hyungwoo couldn’t help but feel a burst of pride as he smiled next to Sanghyeok, as well as some other emotion that he refused to give a name to.

When the LCK representatives arrived at the after-party, Caps bounded up to them, followed by a gaggle of other European players and personalities. “Yo, Faker! It was so good to see you again!” he exclaimed, zeroing in on Sanghyeok as most people did. Sanghyeok waved and greeted him in that low-key way of his, which Hyungwoo definitely did not find endearing.

“Baby Faker!” Junsik exclaimed, pointing at Caps. “1v1 champion!”

Caps grinned and pointed back at Junsik. “Bang, looking good! Loved your Xayah cosplay with Sneaky! How are you doing?” 

Junsik began chatting with Caps in semi-broken English. Unable to keep up with their rapid-fire banter, Sanghyeok and Wangho eventually crept away to greet the other European players. Hyungwoo waved hello to the few people he knew, but otherwise kept mostly to himself.

As more people began pouring into the venue, Hyungwoo felt more and more sidelined. Plenty of people knew who he was, more than he’d expected frankly, but he struggled to really recognize even half of the players and other people wandering about.

Sanghyeok, of course, was immediately mobbed. He fielded them all politely, clearly used to being the center of attention and neither resenting nor particularly relishing in it. Hyungwoo didn’t envy him, honestly. Well, maybe he envied Sanghyeok’s skill in League of Legends, but who didn’t?

“Hyung?” Sanghyeok asked, breaking Hyungwoo out of his reverie. Hyungwoo started, surprised to see Sanghyeok not surrounded by other people and standing so close to him. He could practically count Sanghyeok’s eyelashes.

“Hey,” he replied before he could get lost in those eyelashes. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, you just looked a little out of it,” Sanghyeok said, lip curled up in that familiar catlike smile. Hyungwoo smiled back indulgently.

“Guess I’m just feeling a little old for all this,” he said, waving at the people milling about around them. “Woe is me, feeling like a sad, lonely old fogey at the tender age of 25.”

“You should talk to more people, hyung,” Sanghyeok replied, still smiling that half-earnest, half-mocking smile. “I’m sure if you do you’ll make more friends in no time.”

“Why should I talk to other people when I have the Unkillable Demon King himself giving me his attention?” Hyungwoo said teasingly, ignoring how he’d made those words sound almost flirtatious. Sanghyeok just shook his head.

“Go talk to people, hyung, or else I’m picking Alistar for every game we play together in the future,” he said mock-threateningly. Hyungwoo snorted.

“As if you weren’t already going to do that,” he retorted, but went out into the crowd anyway.

The next several hours were spent chatting with random people and posing for endless pictures. Eventually, someone invited him to go drinking as an “after-afterparty,” and he accepted.

The rest of the night went by in a blur of shots, strange-tasting mixed drinks that were foisted upon him by his new English-speaking friends, and more shots. Somehow, Hyungwoo eventually ended back in the hotel lobby, with a blobby figure that appeared to be Sanghyeok shaking his head at him.

“When I said you should talk to people I didn’t mean get so drunk you can barely walk, hyung,” Sanghyeok said, that damn smug, I-know-something-you-don’t smile still pasted on his face. Hyungwoo wanted to grab his face and wipe that smile off of it. Somehow.

“Don’t t’lk to me like y’re my mom,” he slurred instead, pitching forward as he tried to make his way to the elevator. Sanghyeok just sighed and wrapped an arm around Hyungwoo’s shoulder, propping him up as he guided Hyungwoo in the right direction. His body was cool compared to Hyungwoo’s, but the touch of his skin burned, especially his hands as they steadied Hyungwoo whenever he was about to fall over.

“Why d’you always talk to me?” Hyungwoo muttered as they got into the elevator and Sanghyeok pressed the button for the 15th floor. “Askin’ ‘bout me...Treatin’ me like...like you care ‘bout me or something…”

“Of course I care about you, hyung,” Sanghyeok said, that smile suddenly wiped off his face. Hyungwoo suddenly wished more than anything that it would return. “Why would you think I don’t care about you?”

“Cause y’re...you’re a fuckin’ god. God of League, three time world champ...I’m just some wash...washed up old player you used to troll. That’s all.” Hyungwoo hiccuped and started to slide out of Sanghyeok’s grip.

“I’m just a person, hyung. And so are you,” Sanghyeok replied, brows furrowing as he repositioned his hands to keep Hyungwoo upright and firmly in his grasp. “And you’re my friend.”

“Friend?” Hyungwoo snorted as the elevator door opened and Sanghyeok led him outside. “That why y’asked me to support that gay charity with you? You sure y’re not secretly in love with me or something?”

Sanghyeok suddenly let go of Hyungwoo, causing him to crash to the carpeted floor of the hallway. “Hyung,” he said sharply as Hyungwoo stared up at him in bleary shock. “After all that, how could you…” He turned away, taking several deep breaths before turning back and holding his hand out to Hyungwoo. “No, you’re just drunk. You didn’t mean to say that.”

Hyungwoo tried to reach out and take Sanghyeok’s hand, but he was too drunk to see straight and kept thrusting his arm out into thin air. Eventually, Sangyeok took pity on him and grabbed his arm, gently hoisting him back up. “‘Course I meant it,” he grinned, staring drunkenly into Sanghyeok’s eyes. His beautiful eyes. “Why else would I have been freaking out ‘bout my crush on you these past few days?”

Sanghyeok stared at him opened-mouthed for several seconds. “Hyung...What?” he eventually whispered, voice hoarse, before shaking his head vehemently and tugging on his arm. “No...That’s just the alcohol talking again. Come on, let’s get you to your room and we can forget this ever happened.”‘

Hyungwoo, refusing to move, went limp in Sanghyeok’s arms. “No,” he whined. “I’m not going back ‘til you believe me.”

“I don’t believe you, hyung. I can’t believe you, especially not right now.” Sanghyeok looked horribly sad now. Hyungwoo should kiss it better for him. He leaned in, but Sanghyeok put a hand against his face, pushing him away before he could reach those soft lips. He was looking at anywhere but Hyungwoo now. “If you go to bed now, and come back to me tomorrow...I’ll believe you then, okay?”

Hyungwoo beams and straightens up as best he can, which admittedly isn’t much at the moment. “Okay! Does this mean you like me back?”

Sanghyeok shook his head. “I can’t tell you that until tomorrow, hyung.”

Hyungwoo whined, wanting to know the answer now, but he let Sanghyeok drag him to his room, arrange him on his bed, and remove his shoes for him. As the door clicked shut behind Sanghyeok, Hyungwoo was out like a light.

The next morning, Hyungwoo was woken up by a killer headache, which wasn’t helped in the least by the hotel phone ringing right next to his ear. He groaned as he sat up and grabbed the phone, hit with a sudden rush of vertigo as the blood in his head raced downwards.

“This is your scheduled wakeup call for 9:30AM,” the automated voice chirped at him in English. Hyungwoo groaned again and slammed the phone back down into its cradle, too hungover to bother with treating it gently.

As he reluctantly dragged himself out of bed to grab a glass of water, his brain spat out fuzzy recollections of various things that happened last night, the latest among them being that weird Jello shot someone had persuaded him into trying. It felt like it was making its way up his throat right now, so Hyungwoo gulped down half a glass of water. It only improved things marginally, so he drained the glass before pouring another one.

Someone knocked on the door to his room. “Hyung?”

It was Sanghyeok’s voice. Hyungwoo’s brain immediately started sounding warning bells, though he had no clue why. Either way, his head hurt like hell.

“What is it?” he half-grumbled, half-shouted back.

“The bus is leaving in 20 minutes, so we need to check out of the hotel soon. Everyone else is waiting for you in the lobby.”

“Damn...” Hyungwoo surveyed his room slowly. Luckily, most of his belongings were still stuffed in his suitcase, save for his toothbrush, a pair of jeans, a sleep mask he’d been too drunk to put on last night, and his phone charger. “Alright, I’ll be down right away.”

“Okay.” Sanghyeok’s footsteps didn’t recede from outside Hyungwoo’s door. Hyungwoo sighed and finished drinking his second glass of water before making himself look semi-presentable (i.e. running his fingers through his hair a few times and hastily brushing his teeth) and packing his remaining loose items into his suitcase.

As suspected, Sanghyeok was waiting for him outside the door. He looked at Hyungwoo almost expectantly as they walked down the hallway to the elevators. 

“What is it?” Hyungwoo asked, vaguely discomfited by Sanghyeok’s stare. Did he make a fool of himself while drunk last night or something?

Sanghyeok hastily turned away. “Oh, nothing.” Were the tips of his ears turning pink? Hyungwoo had never seen Sanghyeok so flustered before. It was kind of cute.

“No, seriously, what did I do last night? Did I take off my shirt and start whipping it around again?” Hyungwoo winced, remembering the last time he got this drunk. 

“No, nothing like that,” Sanghyeok said after a slight pause. “So you don’t remember anything about last night, hyung?”

“Oh no.” That could only mean that something even worse had happened. “What did I do this time?”

“It’s nothing, hyung.” Sanghyeok said again, looking down. Something about the shadows running across his face at that angle sparked a sudden recollection in the back of Hyungwoo’s mind.

“Oh fuck,” Hyungwoo said as he fully remembered their exchange from last night, burying his face in his hands. He wished he could sink through the floor. “I confessed to you in the worst way possible, didn’t I? After accusing you of being gay for me first, too…”

Through the slits of his fingers, Hyungwoo could vaguely see Sanghyeok looking back up at him. “So you remember now?”

“Unfortunately, yes. God, I’m so sorry, I made things super awkward for you…” Hyungwoo refused to remove his hands from his face. Maybe Sanghyeok would take pity on him and eventually leave him to die of embarrassment by himself.

Instead, Sanghyeok reached out and pried Hyungwoo’s fingers away, peering up at his burning face despite Hyungwoo struggling against his surprisingly strong grip. Sanghyeok was back to smiling like a cat that got the canary, and this time their faces were so close that Hyungwoo’s heart immediately picked up in speed six times over. “What do you mean you made things awkward, hyung? This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time.”

This time it’s Hyungwoo’s turn to stare at him in disbelief. “Are you saying…?” he asked slowly. Sanghyeok’s grin widened as he nodded.

“Holy shit. Holy shit.” Was all Hyungwoo could think to say at first. “That’s...What a coincidence, huh? That Riot would pair up two gay pros and get them to donate to an LGBTQ charity…”

“That wasn’t a coincidence, hyung,” Sanghyeok admonished him. “We were the ones who chose the charity, not Riot.”

“It was mostly you,” Hyungwoo said, still partially in disbelief. “I didn’t even...It wasn’t until after you picked that charity that I started realizing...That I started letting myself feel…”

“I understand, hyung.” Sanghyeok smiled at him more gently this time. “I wanted to help other people like us by choosing that charity. I’m glad I was able to help you, too.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about it during all of All-Stars,” Hyungwoo confessed. “Couldn’t stop thinking about you, either.”

“I’ve had a crush on you for years,” Sanghyeok admitted calmly, like he hadn’t just dropped a giant news bomb onto Hyungwoo. Before he could react, Sanghyeok tugged on his sleeve. “Come on, hyung. We shouldn’t keep everyone waiting any longer.”

Hyungwoo let himself be dragged onto the elevator by Sanghyeok, mind shorting out from all the revelations from the past few minutes. Did this mean he and Sanghyeok were dating now? They hadn’t so much as held hands yet, but they’d both confessed to each other. When would they be able to hold hands? To do more than that?

From the corner of his eye, Sanghyeok looked as unruffled as ever, though he was smiling a bit more than usual. Then again, he usually smiled more than usual when he was around Hyungwoo…

_ “I’ve had a crush on you for years”  _ echoed over and over in Hyungwoo’s frenzied mind.

Eventually, the elevator doors opened, revealing a very impatient-looking Wangho. “Finally!” he exclaimed, dragging Sanghyeok and Hyungwoo out into the lobby. “We were starting to wonder if you two would ever come out!”

“We came out, all right,” Sanghyeok said with an impish grin, causing Hyungwoo to nearly have a heart attack right there and then. Wangho remained oblivious to the innuendo, rushing over to their chaperones to let them know they could check out of the hotel now.

Once they’d loaded their bags and suitcases and climbed onto the bus, Sanghyeok pulled Hyungwoo into the back row of the bus, several seats away from everyone else. Hyungwoo couldn’t help but find this act of boldness extremely attractive, especially because he suspected what was about to happen next.

“I’m so glad you like me back, hyung,” Sanghyeok whispered right before Hyungwoo pressed his lips against Sanghyeok’s. After that, there wasn’t a lot of talking that was done on the long ride back to the airport.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you missed the context for this: https://twitter.com/iCrystalization/status/1071207556545212417
> 
> Also that 'coming out' joke probably doesn't work in Korean, but I couldn't help myself.


End file.
